If my guess is right, the reason is probably that.
Both tribe members and outsiders believed it was the blessing of the Gaia Goddess.
But I sensed something else.
“This Raonjena also gave something wonderful to our Taeyang.
The year you came to our tribe, around this same time, seeing this night view for the first time made you smile brighter than ever.”
At that moment, Mother Sophia brought up the events of fourteen years ago, when I had joined the Gaia tribe.
“It felt like I had come to another world.
I liked that feeling so much that afterward, the Gaia village itself sank even deeper into my heart.”
“That’s right.
After that day, our Taeyang finally began to open his heart.”
The Raonjena River, which provided food, grew crops, and healed the body, also healed people’s hearts.
Paradise—the beauty of the Raonjena spread before my eyes right now—was heaven itself, a place that made one forget all worries, both fourteen years ago and in this very moment.
“When I sent you away three years ago, I didn’t say anything, but truthfully, this mother was worried.”
Mother Sophia, who had been happily reminiscing about the time I began adapting to the tribe, fell silent for a moment before carefully bringing up three years ago.
“I was afraid that you, who had been hurt by civilization, might suffer from those memories again once you went to the Empire.”
Near Galatea stood the massive kingdom of Memphis.
One day, one of the Memphis princes staged a rebellion.
After being suppressed, the remnants fled into Galatea, and the Memphis royal suppression forces followed them in.
Under the pretext of the tribe hiding the remnants, one Mohican village was massacred.
That village was none other than the one where my mother and I had settled after my father’s death.
My birth mother barely managed to save my nine-year-old self before dying.
I was rescued only after the tribal alliance arrived to drive out the remaining forces that had come to clean up after the massacre.
The one who had been the khan of that alliance was none other than Conan Barbara, the current chieftain of the Gaia tribe, and the one who found me in the ruins was Mother Sophia.
After being rescued, I suffered from aphasia for a while.
Then I became fascinated by the scenery of the Raonjena and finally spoke again.
Mother Sophia had strongly insisted on taking me into the Gaia tribe.
After a long time, I heard that seeing me in the ruins had felt to her as if she had found her own son who had passed away long ago.
Thanks to that devoted care born of our fateful connection, I gradually escaped the deep trauma of that time.
“I think this, Mother.
The tragedy that day was caused by the Memphis soldiers, not the Darmirna Empire.
Just as barbarian tribes have many different temperaments, I am certain that civilized nations are all different as well.
That’s what I believed while attending the academy.”
For three years, the original Geum Taeyang had endured the trauma of the events from fourteen years ago by wanting to be of help to the Gaia tribe.
But not anymore.
The current Geum Taeyang was a fusion of the thirty-something Korean man who had cleared Record of World Conquest.
There were many civilized nations on the Pangea continent, each with its own character.
There were no eternal friends or eternal enemies in politics or in human life.
“You’re truly remarkable, my son!”
Mother Sophia wore the most astonished expression I had seen from her all day.
“I can’t even measure the size of your vessel!
How did you come to such a profound realization?”
Mother Sophia had probably expected an answer about enduring for the sake of the Gaia tribe’s family.
That would have been the answer from the immature Geum Taeyang she had sent away three years ago.
But that naive boy no longer existed.
The Geum Taeyang standing here now had a mental age that differed from Mother Sophia’s by less than ten years.
Because of that earth-shaking increase in mental maturity, Mother Sophia found him deeply fascinating.
“The heroes in the stories you used to tell me while letting me rest on your lap were all so broad-minded.
I tried to be like them.”
I answered smoothly, weaving in memories from the past.
“Hohoho!
That’s right.
Until you reached puberty, I used to let our Taeyang rest on my lap and tell him all sorts of heroic tales.”
My answer had struck Mother Sophia’s tastes perfectly.
She was the type who became excited at the mention of detailed memories.
“How about resting your head on this mother’s lap again after so long and enjoying the Raonjena and the sky before us?”
“Haha!
Even though I’ve grown this big, is that really okay?”
“Oh come now!
Even if you turn thirty or forty, to this Sophia Barbara you’ll always be just a little child.”
Mother Sophia was in high spirits.
She was proud that the son she had raised with dreams and hope had grown up well, so she urged me to use her lap almost petulantly.
“It’s comfortable and healing, Mother… so much so that I feel sleepy…”
“See?
You are always this mother’s son, no matter what.”
I lay down on the fresh grass, using Mother Sophia’s plump thighs as a pillow.
It was more comfortable than the warmest spot in any bedroom.
It was pure bliss.
Mother Sophia lovingly stroked my head, which had gone limp with relaxation.
“And one more thing!
For now, let’s set aside the title ‘Mother.’ In this moment, we are mother and son, just like in the old days.”
Immersed in sentiment, Mother Sophia wanted even deeper empathy from me.
“In that case, Mother.”
So, to be faithful to that request, I made a bold demand as her adopted son.
“Would you place your full, living breasts above my head, just like back then?”
Historical accuracy had to be maintained, after all.
“Hohoho!
Of course I will.”
Rustle, rustle.
Then Mother Sophia, responding to her adopted son’s request, said,
“Here!
This is Mother’s breasts.”
Jiggle!
Jiggle!
She once again presented her benevolent, 80J maternal breasts to me.